glad to have a sure person to refer
to; and they cannot refer to a more accomplished Irish scholar and
antiquarian than "Eugene Curry". His address is, "Royal Irish Academy,
Grafton Street, Dublin."

KERRIENSIS.

* * * * *

Replies To Minor Queries.

_Births, Marriages, &c., Taxes on_ (Vol. ii., p. 10.).--The first instance,
that I am aware of, of a tax on marriages in this country, occurs in the 5
of Wm. and Mary, c. 21. The war in which William engaged soon rendered it
necessary to tax other incidents of humanity; and accordingly the 6 & 7 Wm.
III. c. 6. was passed, granting to his Majesty certain {61} rates and
duties upon marriages, births, deaths, and burials, and upon bachelors and
widowers (a widely-spread net), for the term of five years, "for carrying
on the war against France with vigour." The taxes on births, marriages, and
burials were continued indefinitely by the 7 & 8 Wm. III. c. 35. I know not
when this act was repealed; but by the 23 George III. c. 67., taxes were
again imposed on burials, births, marriages, and christenings; and by 25
George III. c. 75. these taxes were extended to Dissenters. By the 34
George III. c. 11., the taxes were repealed, and they ceased on October
1st, 1794. The entries in the parish register noticed by ARUN, refer to
these taxes. Query, Were our ancestors justified in boasting that they were
"free-born" Englishmen as long as one of these taxes existed?

C. ROSS.

_M._ or _N._ (Vol. i., p. 415.).--These must, I think, be the initials of
some words, and not originating in a corruption of nom, as suggested. We
have in the marriage service:--

"'I publish the banns of marriage between M. of ---- and N. of ----.'
"The curate shall say unto the man,
"M. 'Wilt thou have this woman,' &c.
"The priest shall say unto the woman,
"N. 'Wilt thou have this man,' &c.
"The man says: 'I, M. take thee N. to my wedded wife,' &c.
"The woman says: 'I, N. take thee M. to my wedded husband,'" &c.
Again, "Forasmuch as M. and N. have consented together," &c.

All these passages would go to show that the letters are initials either of
some word by which the sex was denoted, or of some very common Christian
names of each sex, which were formerly in use.

I grant that, in the baptismal service, N. may possibly stand for nomen.

THOS. COX.

Preston.

_Arabic Numerals._--I am not entitled to question either the learning or
the "acumen" of t